OF THE DOLPHIN IN GENERAL.

THESE animals inhabit various seas, being occasionally found in hot and cold climates. They are much smaller than the Whales, the largest species, which is the Grampus, seldom exceeding twenty, or five and twenty feet in length. The colour of three of the species is black on the upper, and white on the under parts; that of the remaining one is entirely white. They are often seen in shoals of from five or six to twenty and upwards in number, gambolling about in the ocean. Their food consists almost wholly of fish, and principally of mackerel and herrings.

THE COMMON DOLPHIN.

THE body of the Dolphin is oblong and roundish, and the snout narrow and sharp-pointed, with a broad tranverse band, or projection of the skin, on its upper part. It is a longer and more slender animal than the porpoise, measuring nine or ten feet in length, and about two in diameter. The body is black above and white below. The mouth is very wide, reaching al

most to the breast, and contains forty teeth : twenty one in the upper, and nineteen in the under jaw: when the mouth is shut the teeth lock into each other.

Dolphins are occasionally observed in almost every part of the ocean; among the icy bays around the polar circles, in the happy climates of the temperate zones, and under the vertical sun of the middle parts of the Globe.

They are predatory animals, and pursue, with avidity, various species of fish, but particularly cod, herrings, and some kinds of flatfish. In some countries, they are known to follow the shoals of mullets sometimes even into the nets of the fishermen.

Their motions in the water are performed with such wonderful rapidity, that the French sailors frequently call the dolphin "the Sea Arrow ;" and Rondolet says, that persons who tormented themselves to do what was considered impossible, were often proverbially compared to those who hold a Dolphin by the tail. Mr. Saint Pierre, in his voyage to the isle of France, assures us, that he saw a Dolphin swim, with apparent ease, round the vessel in which he was sailing, though it was going at the rate of about six miles an hour. A shoal of these animals followed the ships of Sir Richard Hawkins upwards of a thousand leagues. They were known to be the same, by the wounds they occasionally received from the sailors. They are greedy of

almost any kind of scraps that are thrown over board; and consequently are often to be caught, by means of large iron hooks baited with pieces of fish or garbage. They are fond of swimming round the casks or logs of wood which they find driving in the sea. They generally swim in troops, and their progressive motion in the water somewhat resembles the undulating motion of a ship under sail; and it has been remarked, that when their regular course has not been by accident changed, they usually swim against the wind. Their evolutions and gambols on the surface of the ocean, sometimes afford a most interesting and entertaining spectacle. By curving their body, and suddenly extending it, like salmon and some other kinds of fish, they are enabled to leap to a very considerable height above the surface of the water. When they are in eager pursuit of prey, and sometimes even in their gambols, these leaps have been repeated with such astonishing celerity, that it is scarcely possible to conceive how, in such short intervals, the necessary force could be impressed. They have been known on these occasions to spring forward to a distance of more than twenty feet, at a single bound.

What pleasing wonders charm the sailors' sight,
When calms the Dolphins to their sports invite?
As jovial swains in tuneful measure, tread,

And leave their rounding pressures on the mead;

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So they in circling dance, with wanton sase,
Pursue each other round the furrow'd seas,

With rapid force the curling streams divide,
Add to the waves, and drive the slow pac'd tide.

In all cases of shipwreck the Dolphin was believed in ancient times, to be waiting to rescue and carry on shore the unfortunate mariners. Arion the musician, when thrown over board by the pirates, is said to have been indebted for his life to this animal.

But past belief, a Dolphin's arched back
Preserved Arion from his destin'd wreck;
Secure he sits, and, with harmonious strains,
Requites the bearer for his friendly pains.

How these absurd tales originated, it is impossible to conjecture; for Dolphins certainly exhibit nó marks of peculiar attachment to mankind. If they attend on the vessel navigating the ocean, it is in expectation of plunder, and not of rendering assistance in cases of distress. By the seamen of the present day, they are held rather in abhorrence than esteem, for their frolics on the surface of the water, are almost the sure sign of an approaching gale.

The painters both of ancient and modern times, have invariably depicted the Dolphin with its back greatly arched. This crooked form, however, is never assumed by the animal,

except in the act of leaping out of the water. Dolphins are said to change their colour before they die, and again after they are dead.

'Their flesh was formerly held in great esteem; it is, however, very dry and insipid: the best parts are those near the head. It is seldom eaten now, but when the animals that are taken, happen to be young and tender.

THE PORPOISE.

THE Porpoise is well known in all the European seas. In its general form it resembles the Dolphin; it is, however, somewhat less in size, and has a snout both much broader and shorter. It is generally from six to seven feet in length; thick in the fore parts, and gradually tapering towards the tail. The colour is either a bluish black, or a very dark brown above, and nearly white beneath.

It is seldom that porpoises are seen, except in troops of from six or seven, to thirty and upwards in number. The great size of their tail fin, and the strong muscles of their tail, contribute to render them very active in the water; along the surface of which, they sometimes move with surprising rapidity. They frequently gam. bol about on the water with great vivacity. Their appearance is believed by seamen to be a